The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-08-27
Gnnl and Ind lam ner.

| Mr.. Francis Gallon, in The Fortnightly Re
view, gives nn analy 81, Of statst Is on good
and bad temper The statistics embrace de
| scriptions Of the tenlperS of 1881 persons
Good and bad tempers are again grouped 10y
Mr.. Cation into five main claSseS-mild, do.
Gle, fretful violent, masterful. The three
| former predominant in women, the two latter
| in men. The number of persons, however. in
| the two groups of good and bad temper, is
about equal; one set Of data making it forty.
| eight good to iifty-two bad, and another
| forty seven TO fifty-three There is likewi Use
| little difference between the sexes; but what
there is. Is in favor Of the gentler sex, there
being IS per cent of bad tempers amongst
| them and IS per cent. amongst men. Alto
gethcr So per cent. were mild in temper, Ii
per cent. docile, 90 per cent. fretful, IL per
cent violent and 8 per cent. masterful.
1t Is curious to note how well the number of
persons recorded as good, bad or neutral in
temper comedies with what theoretical con-
siderations demand OF 1861 persons, 32l
ais described as good, 342 as bad and 705 US
neutral (most OF the last not being described
| at ain; that is, these observers unconsciously
divide persons into four equal classes-good
| tempered, bad tempered, not decidedly either
but with more Of a tendency to good, and
similarly towards the bad This shows that
tho line Of average temper was placed where
| it belongs, with equal devations in either di-
| rc,ion. Another mark Of reliability is to be
found in the fact that near relatives are
spoken Of as bad tempered quite as unresesv-
eddy as more distant ones.
Whether temper is hereditary is a question
not easily answered. but when asked OF
couples in which both parents are good tenn
pered, or both parents bad tempered, the
answer is emphalically in the affirmative.
Thirty per cent. of the children OF the former
are spoken of as good tempered, and only 10
per cent. as bad; while, with regard TO the
children OF tho bad tempered, only per
cent. are good tempered and 81 per cent. bad.
Similarly, by n method necessarily somewhat
arbitrary and not easily described, ~. Gal
ton concludes that IN the cTccc'.y- or good
tempered persons, Tree persons 0: ,ood tenn
per will occur TO two OF bad temper, and
vice versa in tho ancestry Of bad tempered
person Apart from direct heredity, edu-
cation and circumstances evidently affect
temper A large class Of such influences are
about ~ favorable to good as to bal temper,
and 70 tend 70 produce variety Of tempers.
Another class OF influences, typically illus.
tra.ed in tho case Of q not unusually docile
woman becoming very docile as the wife of a
masterful husband, tends to divide persons
land this applies particularly to the oTspring)
into distinct groups; while the effect OF =
prepotent ancestor may be working to con-
tinus one kind Of temper through many
members OF the family. Mr., Cation finds
that, in fourteen cases OF forty nine, these
domestic and social influences are too weak
to overcome the secondary influences in
course Of heredity, either by the p epotent
temper Of ono member or the general con-
currence OF temper in several. Finally, 1t
may be noted, that thou IN so important and
readily observed trait, temper Is not a
prime consideration in marriage, men OF each
kind of temper about us frequently choosing
. wife Of one temper as Of another.